Too many contests?

[Reo]

I wouldnt like to have all the artwork in one thread and losing mine..It would be the same thing then..If people post in their threads,yours gets pushed down..If you all post in one thread, then yours still get pushed down..

I like having my own thread, but I'm not so attached to it, so its not the thought of not having it anymore that I don't like, its just the thought of having to 'compete' with other users to post on one thread and get your artwork seen and commented on, at least with your own thread if it gets pushed down without comment, you can post new artwork, which will bump it up and both sets will be seen.

As for contests, I don't really see them as being a big problem..I like taking part in most if not all of them, depending on the theme and if I can do something with them. But if some are to be closed, I would like it if at least 3 of the smaller ones(the ones that last under a week) stay aswell as LIMS and One on One..And the ones choosen to stay be ones that have alot of people entering,or even a poll to decide which would stay.

And if you look at the pinned topics now,there are some that could either mix together because all they are is information and then this one..Maybe the contests general discussions could be pinned..And most of the voting ones get closed after the voting has finished,so they soon go back pages.

[flutterby]

The pinning thing was worked out a while ago, that was a huge problem because the amount of things that were being pinned rendered said pinning redundant. Now all the contest discussions can be found in one thread.

I guess people are going to just have to accept that their work gets lost and a couple of contests can maybe be closed, I don't see that we will agree on a solution as a sub forum is not an option. I return to my point earlier about future contests having to meet certain criteria and having a test run to control the amount being opened.

[Reo]

But if you look at the pinned topics now,2 are information threads(spamming and big info) which could be put in one pinned thread.

There is the contest thread,which wouldn't be needed if they were all pinned.

Then there is the random artwork..

The calender thread which hasnt had a post since February and then this one..

But looking at it all,it could all end up in just 2 pinned topics..A information thread and the random artwork..Then there are about 6 or 7 contests and if some are closing there would be less,so it would be the same amount of pinned threads as there are now.

And then I agree with new contests being discussed before they are made and then seeing how it goes.

[Skykat]

Okay my suggestions for this section.

I don't think it warrants a sub forum, I know the fanfiction section has two forums but Creativity and multimedia already has five sections, even if you class multimedia as a seperate section creativity has three sections to it. I see absolutely no reason to bring in another forum especially with the current issues about there being too many forums on here.

I don't see any reasons to remove the individual artwork threads. I do think this forum needs to go back to being for home and away artwork only. At the end of the day this is a home and away forum, there are artwork forums where you can show off artwork from other forums. I see no reason why you can't use your signature to post the link to your LJ or wherever you want to show off your artwork. I think people can have individual threads to post their artwork in and receive replies, I don't see the need to thank every single person for their replies, one thank you when you post your next set of artwork is sufficient. I think people should try and retain their one thread, even if they upgrade to a new programme, the topic title can always be edited. If people do insist on the need for a new thread then they should contact a moderator and have their old one closed.

Contests. I think the non-home and away related contests, animals, cartoons etc should run their current round and then be closed. I think maybe the main few that people seem to want to keep, LIMS, one on one etc can stay and I understand that limiting the contests to home and away makes the contests very limited. Thats why I think we should allow the contests to be non-home and away related but limit them to three contests maximum and finished contests should be closed and allowed to drop as soon as possible.

To me that seems like the only compromise that'll suit everyone. I know people like the contests but there were too many, they were cluttering up the forum and a lot weren't home and away related. I'm sure there are other forums that run contests and in the meantime people should just store up that extra creativity for the contests we will have running.

If we agree to this we can merge the information and spamming threads and pin the three contests we do keep running. The calender thread can be unpinned and I see no reason to not keep the random artwork thread for people who don't want their own thread.

[~Rosey~]

So your saying that we cant post non haa related artwork in our threads? Well no offence, but that sucks.

[Skykat]

No offence but its a home and away forum. Fanfiction is home and away related, multimedia is home and away related, discussion with exception of general chat is for home and away discussion. I don't see why artwork shouldn't be home and away related. Like I say you can use your signature to post links to non-home and away sites where you post your creations.

[~Rosey~]

Well i'm sorry but i think thats goiung to drag alot of people away from this section. Yes, it is a haa forum, but we should at least be allowed some freedom. I know its really going to drag me away (and your going to say thats up to you ) but I get sick of making haa stuff all the time. I run out of stuff to make, and I have big obsessions with other TV shows and celebrities. Look around peoples threads, sure enough, the majority of waht people sometimes post, isnt haa.

[sevenpuddings]

Without actually really reading anything to do with this, except for Katie and Cal's ideas about abandoning all threads and everyone posting in two large threads [one for H&A, the other for non H&A, which I think is a great idea] YOU ARE STRESSING KAT OUT AND SHE DOESN'T NEED THAT! & While I know she could simply avoid this forum, as a moderator who actually cares about this community, she can't. So... randomly, I came up with a few ideas.

There are way too many challenges - and whats more of an issue is the time delay, because people continously believe that there needs to be 'more votes' even when the time limit is up. So basically, there are three main challenges that could have all concepts of competitions incorporated into them.

Avatar Competition

Last Icon Maker Standing

1on1.

And yes, 1on1 and LIMS take time. However, if we were to hold two avatar comps running in unison each week, to a set deadline, then I feel all issues could be resolved.

First of all, we need a single post with suggestions for all Avatar Comps, and when someone has used suggested theme, it gets crossed off the list, until all have been used up. This way all the different themes people want can have an equal shot, and there will be a mixture of things.

Secondly, as mentioned, we could have two Avatar Comps - one for Icons, and one for Larger graphics, which would also make everyone happy.

Thirdly, we run per a set time schedule. Monday - New comps are put up, Friday entries must be in, Friday night through to Sunday Day/Evening [depending on where you are in the world] when the winner is announced, and then Monday morning, the entire challenge begins again.

This way there are constantly two challenges running a week that people can enter, neither of which will have the same themes or kinds of graphics required.

And then 1on1 and LIMS can also run as they are now, but if people stuck to voting times and such, there wouldn't ever be such a wait.

As for the forum being related to H&A - honestly, it is a Home and Away forum. Go and join a Sophia Bush forum if you want to make avatars of her, or a Veronica Mars, or Gilmore Girls, or an OC forum if you want to post icons of them. Or, better yet, join fanforum.com - they have MANY forums dedicated to ALMOST EVERYTHING. That way, H&A A&C can be dedicated to the right thing again!

Aherm, but thats just what I believe. Feel free to ignore me. But please, lets not go round and round in circles, for the mods sake who have to be the ones who really deal with this!

[~Rosey~]

First of all, we need a single post with suggestions for all Avatar Comps, and when someone has used suggested theme, it gets crossed off the list, until all have been used up. This way all the different themes people want can have an equal shot, and there will be a mixture of things.

Secondly, as mentioned, we could have two Avatar Comps - one for Icons, and one for Larger graphics, which would also make everyone happy.

Thirdly, we run per a set time schedule. Monday - New comps are put up, Friday entries must be in, Friday night through to Sunday Day/Evening [depending on where you are in the world] when the winner is announced, and then Monday morning, the entire challenge begins again.

i think this is the best idea yet! Would be confusing with time diffrences, but if we could get a time that its resnoable (sp?) for all time zones, then itcould work

And just to say, i dont think theres a forum for my favourite TV show, all saints

[Mez83]

So your saying that we cant post non haa related artwork in our threads? Well no offence, but that sucks.

Would you rather this section be deleted and the forum just be discussion?